Brown shrugs off quit claims and flies to oil talks

Published on Saturday 21 June 2008 19:49

GORDON Brown flew to Saudi Arabia last night in a bid to urge oil-rich nations to invest some of their trillions of dollars in profits into nuclear and renewable projects in the UK.

The nations, including Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East, are thought to have earned some $3 trillion from the "oil shock" of recent months, as prices have rocketed up to $130 a barrel.

Brown wants them to help countries like the UK reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by sinking some of the profits into new wind farms and nuclear projects across Britain.

The Prime Minister's mission comes as he prepares to mark his first year in office this week, with Downing Street hoping to recover from six months of unremittingly poor headlines following Brown's decision to cancel an early election.

The nationalisation of Northern Rock, the loss of tax data discs, and the fiasco over the 10p tax rate were punished by voters in English local elections and by-elections, with Brown falling below the poll ratings of John Major.

There were reports yesterday that Brown has already told close colleagues that, should he win the next general election, he will quit the job prior to the election after that. The move would echo the decision taken by Tony Blair ahead of the 2005 general election.

By the time of the election after next he will be in his sixties, having spent 17 years at the top of government. Friends point out that Brown still has a young family who he will want to spend more time with. However, the claims were rubbished by Downing Street yesterday and Brown, publicly at least, will continue to insist he has no intention of going.

The trip to Jeddah on the eve of an Opec conference this weekend is part of Brown's plan to secure a "new deal" between oil producers and consumers in the West. His efforts come as the government is seeking to enlarge the UK's network of nuclear power stations and dramatically increase the use of wind and tidal energy.

Brown is also facing public anger over the cripplingly high price of fuel, largely due to the cost of Opec oil. He said he would appeal to oil producers to invest their profits in the more stable market of renewables. He also wants Britain and other western countries to be given more opportunity to invest in oil in Opec countries, which have long held massive sway over international markets via control of oil prices.

Brown said yesterday: "I am going to see if we can get a new deal between oil producers and the consumers where oil producers will invest in countries like ours, and oil consumers like us with good companies with good technology and skills can invest in the oil-producing countries. Where we can make credible commitments and the world can see we will reduce our dependence on oil and we will get demand and supply back into balance."

The US energy secretary Samuel Bodman said insufficient oil production and not speculation was driving soaring crude prices. His comments set the stage for a showdown between the US and conference host Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has largely blamed speculation in the oil markets for the record prices. Bodman said oil production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil, especially from developing countries like China and India.